Early life and education
Kazan was born in
Los AngelesLos Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...
, the daughter of
screenwriterScreenwriters or scriptwriters or scenario writers are people who write/create the short or feature-length screenplays from which mass media such as films, television programs, Comics or video games are based.-Profession:...
s
Nicholas KazanNicholas Kazan is an American writer, producer and director. He is the son of director Elia Kazan and his first wife, playwright Mary Day Thacher Kazan. He married Robin Swicord, a writer, producer, actress, and director in 1984. His daughter is the actress Zoe Kazan.Kazan, also a noted...
and
Robin SwicordRobin Swicord is an American screenwriter and film director. She wrote the screenplay for the film Memoirs of a Geisha, based on the novel of the same name by Arthur Golden...
, and the granddaughter of
filmA film director is a person who directs the actors and film crew in filmmaking. They control a film's artistic and dramatic nathan roach, while guiding the technical crew and actors.-Responsibilities:...
and theatre director
Elia KazanElia Kazan was an American director and actor, described by the New York Times as "one of the most honored and influential directors in Broadway and Hollywood history". Born in Istanbul, the capital of the Ottoman Empire, to Greek parents originally from Kayseri in Anatolia, the family emigrated...
. She was educated at the private
Windward SchoolWindward School is an independent school in the Mar Vista neighborhood of Los Angeles, California, accredited by the Western Association of Schools and Colleges. It was founded by writer/teacher Shirley Windward in 1971...
in
Mar VistaMar Vista is a district on the West Side of Los Angeles, California.-Geography and transportation:Mar Vista is near the center of LA's West Side. The city of Santa Monica lies to the northwest, West Los Angeles to the north, Palms to the northeast, Culver City to the east, Del Rey to the southwest,...
and
Marlborough SchoolMarlborough School is a private, all-girls, college-preparatory secondary school for grades 7th through 12th located at 250 South Rossmore Avenue in the Hancock Park neighborhood of Los Angeles, California, United States. Marlborough was founded in 1889 by Mary Caswell and is the oldest independent...
in Hancock Park, Los Angeles, and
Yale UniversityYale University is a private, Ivy League university located in New Haven, Connecticut, United States. Founded in 1701 in the Colony of Connecticut, the university is the third-oldest institution of higher education in the United States...
, from which she graduated in 2005.
Acting career
After her film debut in 2003 playing Samantha in Swordswallowers and Thin Men, Kazan went on to play her first professional stage role in the 2006
off-BroadwayOff-Broadway theater is a term for a professional venue in New York City with a seating capacity between 100 and 499, and for a specific production of a play, musical or revue that appears in such a venue, and which adheres to related trade union and other contracts...
revival of The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie starring
Cynthia NixonCynthia Ellen Nixon is an American actress, known for her portrayal of Miranda Hobbes in the HBO series Sex and the City . She has received two Screen Actors Guild Awards, two Emmy Awards, a Tony Award, and a Grammy Award....
. In 2007 she had a small role in
The SavagesThe Savages is a 2007 American comedy-drama film, written and directed by Tamara Jenkins. It stars Philip Seymour Hoffman and Laura Linney and premiered at the Sundance Film Festival.-Plot:...
, which starred
Laura LinneyLaura Leggett Linney is an American actress of film, television, and theatre. Linney has won three Emmy Awards, two Golden Globes, and a Screen Actors Guild Award. She has been nominated for three times for an Academy Award and once for a BAFTA Award...
and
Philip Seymour HoffmanPhilip Seymour Hoffman is an American actor and director. Hoffman began acting in television in 1991, and the following year started to appear in films...
. She also guest appeared in an episode of supernatural drama
MediumMedium is an American television drama series that premiered on NBC on January 3, 2005, and ended on CBS on January 21, 2011. Themed on supernatural gifts, its lead character, Allison DuBois , is a medium employed as a consultant for the Phoenix, Arizona district attorney's office...
as a friend of the main character's younger self. She next appeared in the films
FractureFracture is a 2007 legal/crime suspense film from New Line Cinema and Castle Rock Entertainment, directed by Gregory Hoblit, starring Anthony Hopkins and Ryan Gosling...
and
In the Valley of ElahIn the Valley of Elah is a 2007 film written and directed by Paul Haggis, starring Tommy Lee Jones, Charlize Theron, and Susan Sarandon. The film’s title refers to the Biblical valley where the battle between David and Goliath is said to have taken place....
. In the fall of the same year, she returned to the stage in a
Playwrights HorizonsPlaywrights Horizons is a not-for-profit Off-Broadway theater located in New York City dedicated to the support and development of contemporary American playwrights, composers, and lyricists, and to the production of their new work....
production of 100 Saints You Should Know and
Jonathan Marc ShermanJonathan Marc Sherman is a contemporary American playwright.He was born in Morristown, New Jersey, and grew up in Livingston. He began writing plays on a typewriter his father gave him as a birthday gift when he was twelve or thirteen years old...
's Things We Want, directed by
Ethan HawkeEthan Green Hawke is an American actor, writer and director. He made his feature film debut in 1985 with the science fiction movie Explorers, before making a supporting appearance in the 1989 drama Dead Poets Society which is considered his breakthrough role...
.
In January 2008, Kazan made her
BroadwayBroadway theatre, commonly called simply Broadway, refers to theatrical performances presented in one of the 40 professional theatres with 500 or more seats located in the Theatre District centered along Broadway, and in Lincoln Center, in Manhattan in New York City...
debut opposite
S. Epatha MerkersonS. Epatha Merkerson is an American film, stage, and television actress. She has won a Golden Globe, Emmy Awards, Screen Actors Guild Awards, Obie Award and four NAACP Image Awards. She has also received two Tony Award nominations...
and
Kevin Anderson in a revival of
William IngeWilliam Motter Inge was an American playwright and novelist, whose works typically feature solitary protagonists encumbered with strained sexual relations. In the early 1950s, he had a string of memorable Broadway productions, and one of these, Picnic, earned him a Pulitzer Prize...
's
Come Back, Little ShebaCome Back, Little Sheba is a 1950 play by the American dramatist William Inge. The play was Inge's first, written while he was a teacher at Washington University in St...
.
Ben BrantleyBenjamin D. "Ben" Brantley is an American journalist and the chief theater critic of The New York Times.-Life and career:...
of
The New York TimesThe New York Times is an American daily newspaper founded and continuously published in New York City since 1851. The New York Times has won 106 Pulitzer Prizes, the most of any news organization...
called her performance "first-rate," adding, "Ms. Kazan is terrific in conveying the character’s self-consciousness." In the fall, she appeared on Broadway as Masha in
Anton ChekhovAnton Pavlovich Chekhov was a Russian physician, dramatist and author who is considered to be among the greatest writers of short stories in history. His career as a dramatist produced four classics and his best short stories are held in high esteem by writers and critics...
's
The SeagullThe Seagull is the first of what are generally considered to be the four major plays by the Russian dramatist Anton Chekhov. The Seagull was written in 1895 and first produced in 1896...
opposite
Kristin Scott ThomasKristin A. Scott Thomas, OBE is an English actress who has also acquired French nationality. She gained international recognition in the 1990s for her roles in Bitter Moon, Four Weddings and a Funeral and The English Patient....
and
Peter SarsgaardJohn Peter Sarsgaard is an American film and stage actor. He landed his first feature role in the movie Dead Man Walking in 1995. He then appeared in the 1998 independent films Another Day in Paradise and Desert Blue. That same year, Sarsgaard received a substantial role in The Man in the Iron...
. The same year she had roles in August,
Me and Orson WellesMe and Orson Welles is a 2009 period-drama film directed by Richard Linklater and starring Zac Efron, Christian McKay, and Claire Danes. Based on Robert Kaplow's novel of the same name, the story, set in 1937 New York, tells of a teenager hired to perform in Orson Welles's stage production of...
and
Revolutionary RoadRevolutionary Road is a 2008 American drama film directed by Sam Mendes, from screenplay by Justin Haythe, starring Leonardo DiCaprio and Kate Winslet. It is based on the 1961 novel of the same name by Richard Yates....
.
Kazan is also a playwright. In 2009, her play Absalom premiered at the
Humana Festival of New American PlaysHumana Festival of New American Plays is an internationally renowned festival that celebrates the contemporary American playwright. Produced annually in Louisville, Kentucky by Actors Theatre of Louisville, this prestigious event showcases new theatrical works and draws producers, critics,...
in Louisville, KY. The play, about a father's tense relationships with his children, had been extensively read and workshopped since Kazan's junior year at
Yale UniversityYale University is a private, Ivy League university located in New Haven, Connecticut, United States. Founded in 1701 in the Colony of Connecticut, the university is the third-oldest institution of higher education in the United States...
. She capped off the year playing Meryl Streep's daughter in the Nancy Meyers comedy
It's ComplicatedIt's Complicated is a 2009 American romantic comedy film written and directed by Nancy Meyers, starring Meryl Streep, Steve Martin and Alec Baldwin.-Plot:...
. She appeared in the
BroadwayBroadway theatre, commonly called simply Broadway, refers to theatrical performances presented in one of the 40 professional theatres with 500 or more seats located in the Theatre District centered along Broadway, and in Lincoln Center, in Manhattan in New York City...
production of
A Behanding in SpokaneA Behanding in Spokane is a 2010 black comedy by award-winning Irish playwright Martin McDonagh. It premièred at the Schoenfeld Theatre on Broadway in New York. It is McDonagh's first play set in the United States.-Plot synopsis:...
with
Christopher WalkenChristopher Walken is an American stage and screen actor. He has appeared in more than 100 movies and television shows, including Joe Dirt, Annie Hall, The Deer Hunter, The Prophecy trilogy, The Dogs of War, Sleepy Hollow, Brainstorm, The Dead Zone, A View to a Kill, At Close Range, King of New...
and
Sam RockwellSam Rockwell is an American actor known for his leading roles in Lawn Dogs, Confessions of a Dangerous Mind, Choke and Moon, as well as for his supporting roles in The Green Mile, Iron Man 2, The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, Frost/Nixon, Galaxy Quest, Matchstick Men, The Assassination of...
until June 6, 2010. She also played a main role in the movies
I Hate Valentine's DayI Hate Valentine's Day is a 2009 romantic comedy film written and directed by Nia Vardalos. The film stars Vardalos and John Corbett, previously seen together in Vardalos' hit 2002 film My Big Fat Greek Wedding.-Plot:...
and
The Exploding GirlThe Exploding Girl is a 2009 American mumblecore film written and directed by Bradley Rust Gray, starring Zoe Kazan as Ivy, a college student returning home to Brooklyn for a break fraught with difficulty....
, which were both released in 2009.
In 2010, she had a main role in the comedy-drama
happythankyoumorepleasehappythankyoumoreplease is a 2010 comedy-drama film written and directed by Josh Radnor in his directorial debut. The film stars Radnor, Malin Åkerman, Kate Mara, Zoe Kazan, Michael Algieri, Pablo Schreiber, and Tony Hale, and it tells the story of a group of young New Yorkers, struggling to...
as Mary Catherine, the cousin of
Josh RadnorJoshua Michael "Josh" Radnor is an American actor, director, and writer, best known for portraying the main character Ted Mosby on the popular, Emmy Award-winning CBS sitcom How I Met Your Mother, for which he has received worldwide fame and recognitions.He made his writing and directorial debut...
' character. She also starred as Millie Gately in 2010 (alongside
Paul DanoPaul Franklin Dano is an American actor and producer. He has appeared in films such as L.I.E. , The Girl Next Door , Little Miss Sunshine , There Will Be Blood , and Where the Wild Things Are .-Early life:Dano was born in New York City, the son of Gladys and Paul Dano...
, playing her husband) in Kelly Reichardt's independent western drama Meek's Cutoff. In the fall, Kazan played Harper Pitt in
Signature Theatre CompanySignature Theatre Company, founded in 1991 by James Houghton, exists to honor and celebrate the playwright. Signature makes an extended commitment to a playwright’s body of work, and during this journey, the writer is engaged in every aspect of the creative process...
's 20th Anniversary production of
Tony KushnerAnthony Robert "Tony" Kushner is an American playwright and screenwriter. He received the Pulitzer Prize for Drama in 1993 for his play, Angels in America: A Gay Fantasia on National Themes, and co-authored with Eric Roth the screenplay for the 2005 film, Munich.-Life and career:Kushner was born...
's
Angels in AmericaAngels in America: A Gay Fantasia on National Themes is the 1993 Pulitzer Prize winning play in two parts by American playwright Tony Kushner. It has been made into both a television miniseries and an opera by Peter Eötvös.-Characters:...
. On the small screen, Kazan then appeared in four episodes of HBO's
Bored to DeathBored to Death is an American comedy series, which premiered on HBO on September 20, 2009. , three seasons have aired, each consisting of eight episodes. The show was created by author Jonathan Ames, and stars Jason Schwartzman as a fictional Jonathan Ames – a writer based in Brooklyn, New York...
as Nina, the love interest of a fictionalized
Jonathan AmesJonathan Ames is an American author who has written a number of novels and comic memoirs. He was a columnist for the New York Press for several years, and became known for self-deprecating tales of his sexual misadventures. He also has a long-time envy of boxing, appearing occasionally in the ring...
played by
Jason SchwartzmanJason Francesco Schwartzman is an American actor and musician. He is perhaps best known for his roles in the Hollywood films Rushmore, Spun, I Heart Huckabees, Shopgirl, Marie Antoinette, The Darjeeling Limited, Funny People, and Scott Pilgrim vs. the World...
.
Her next project, for which she wrote the screenplay, is a comedy-romance film directed by
Jonathan DaytonJonathan Dayton was an American politician from the U.S. state of New Jersey. He was the youngest person to sign the United States Constitution and a member of the U.S. House of Representatives, serving as the fourth Speaker of the United States House of Representatives, and later the U.S. Senate...
and Valerie Faris titled He Loves Me, starring
Antonio BanderasJosé Antonio Domínguez Banderas , better known as Antonio Banderas, is a Spanish film actor, film director, film producer and singer...
,
Deborah Ann WollDeborah Ann Woll is an American actress best known for her role as Jessica Hamby on HBO's True Blood.- Early life :...
and
Steve CooganStephen John "Steve" Coogan is a British comedian, actor, writer and producer. Born in Manchester, he began his career as a standup comedian and impressionist, working as a voice artist throughout the 1980s on satirical puppet show Spitting Image. In the early nineties, Coogan began creating...
. She will also star in the film as Ruby alongside her partner
Paul DanoPaul Franklin Dano is an American actor and producer. He has appeared in films such as L.I.E. , The Girl Next Door , Little Miss Sunshine , There Will Be Blood , and Where the Wild Things Are .-Early life:Dano was born in New York City, the son of Gladys and Paul Dano...
once again. The film is currently in post-production, awaiting a 2012 release.
Personal life
Kazan lives in the Carroll Gardens section of
BrooklynBrooklyn is the most populous of New York City's five boroughs, with nearly 2.6 million residents, and the second-largest in area. Since 1896, Brooklyn has had the same boundaries as Kings County, which is now the most populous county in New York State and the second-most densely populated...
.
As of April 2009, Kazan is romantically linked to actor
Paul DanoPaul Franklin Dano is an American actor and producer. He has appeared in films such as L.I.E. , The Girl Next Door , Little Miss Sunshine , There Will Be Blood , and Where the Wild Things Are .-Early life:Dano was born in New York City, the son of Gladys and Paul Dano...
.
Filmography
List of film credits
| Year |
Film |
Role |
Notes |
| 2003 |
Swordswallowers and Thin Men |
Samantha |
Film debut |
| 2007 |
The SavagesThe Savages is a 2007 American comedy-drama film, written and directed by Tamara Jenkins. It stars Philip Seymour Hoffman and Laura Linney and premiered at the Sundance Film Festival.-Plot:...
|
Student |
|
| 2007 |
Fracture Fracture is a 2007 legal/crime suspense film from New Line Cinema and Castle Rock Entertainment, directed by Gregory Hoblit, starring Anthony Hopkins and Ryan Gosling...
|
Mona |
|
| 2007 |
In the Valley of ElahIn the Valley of Elah is a 2007 film written and directed by Paul Haggis, starring Tommy Lee Jones, Charlize Theron, and Susan Sarandon. The film’s title refers to the Biblical valley where the battle between David and Goliath is said to have taken place....
|
Angie |
|
| 2008 |
August |
Gal Employee |
|
| 2008 |
Me and Orson Welles Me and Orson Welles is a 2009 period-drama film directed by Richard Linklater and starring Zac Efron, Christian McKay, and Claire Danes. Based on Robert Kaplow's novel of the same name, the story, set in 1937 New York, tells of a teenager hired to perform in Orson Welles's stage production of...
|
Gretta Adler |
|
| 2008 |
Revolutionary Road Revolutionary Road is a 2008 American drama film directed by Sam Mendes, from screenplay by Justin Haythe, starring Leonardo DiCaprio and Kate Winslet. It is based on the 1961 novel of the same name by Richard Yates....
|
Maureen Grube |
|
| 2009 |
The Exploding Girl The Exploding Girl is a 2009 American mumblecore film written and directed by Bradley Rust Gray, starring Zoe Kazan as Ivy, a college student returning home to Brooklyn for a break fraught with difficulty....
|
Ivy |
Lead role |
| 2009 |
The Private Lives of Pippa Lee The Private Lives of Pippa Lee is a 2009 American drama film written and directed by Rebecca Miller. The screenplay is based on her novel of the same title. The film premiered on February 9, 2009, at the 59th Berlin International Film Festival and was shown at the Sydney Film Festival and the...
|
Grace Lee |
|
| 2009 |
I Hate Valentine's Day I Hate Valentine's Day is a 2009 romantic comedy film written and directed by Nia Vardalos. The film stars Vardalos and John Corbett, previously seen together in Vardalos' hit 2002 film My Big Fat Greek Wedding.-Plot:...
|
Tammy Greenwood |
|
| 2009 |
It's Complicated It's Complicated is a 2009 American romantic comedy film written and directed by Nancy Meyers, starring Meryl Streep, Steve Martin and Alec Baldwin.-Plot:...
|
Gabby Adler |
|
| 2010 |
happythankyoumoreplease happythankyoumoreplease is a 2010 comedy-drama film written and directed by Josh Radnor in his directorial debut. The film stars Radnor, Malin Åkerman, Kate Mara, Zoe Kazan, Michael Algieri, Pablo Schreiber, and Tony Hale, and it tells the story of a group of young New Yorkers, struggling to...
|
Mary Catherine |
|
| 2010 |
Meek's Cutoff Meek's Cutoff is a 2010 western film directed by Kelly Reichardt. The film was shown in competition at the 67th Venice International Film Festival...
|
Millie Gately |
|
| 2012 |
He Loves Me |
Ruby |
Post-production |
List of television credits
| Year |
Title |
Role |
Notes |
| 2007 |
Medium (TV series)Medium is an American television drama series that premiered on NBC on January 3, 2005, and ended on CBS on January 21, 2011. Themed on supernatural gifts, its lead character, Allison DuBois , is a medium employed as a consultant for the Phoenix, Arizona district attorney's office...
|
Izzy |
Episode "The Boy Next Door" |
| 2008 |
Speechless |
Stood Up Girl #2 |
TV documentary |
| 2008 |
After Iraq |
Herself |
Video documentary |
| 2008 |
HBO First Look HBO First Look is an American television show on HBO that chronicles up and coming movies. It first started in 1992 with a documentary on A League of Their Own starring Tom Hanks, and still airs today. The series shows behind-the-scenes looks at the filming and interviews with the actors. The show...
|
Herself |
Episode "The Making of 'Revolutionary Road'" |
| 2010 |
Bored to Death Bored to Death is an American comedy series, which premiered on HBO on September 20, 2009. , three seasons have aired, each consisting of eight episodes. The show was created by author Jonathan Ames, and stars Jason Schwartzman as a fictional Jonathan Ames – a writer based in Brooklyn, New York...
|
Nina |
4 episodes |
| 2011 |
Showing Up |
Herself |
Documentary |
External links